BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
Mountain View High School's boys cross country team wanted to follow up its Group AAA state title with a trip to the national meet in Portland, Ore.
Wildcats' senior Kaitlyn Davis wanted to do the same.
But after the Nike Cross Country Southeast Region championships this past weekend in Cary, N.C., the Wildcats have to settle for one out of two.
Davis, who won the individual state title last month, finished in eighth place to earn a spot in the Nike Cross Nationals on Saturday in Portland.
The Wildcats' boys were a different story, however.
They needed to place in the top two in the region to earn a spot in the national meet. They placed fourth, 28 points out of second.
"If we had run poorly, we could've made it," Mountain View head coach Dave Davis said of his boys. "But we didn't even run poorly."
Davis said three of his boys set personal-best times. He said three others had days they'd like to forget.
"That's when as a coach, you go back and go 'Damn,'" Davis said. "You look at this person and you say, 'If we could've done this?' But I can do that the whole week and it's not going to change anything because you've got to get it done on that given day."
Kaitlyn Davis certainly got it done.
Her eighth-place finish barely made the national cut, but Dave Davis said he was proud because she had limited knowledge of the course.
"We probably made a couple of mistakes early," Davis said. "But at least we were good enough and smart enough to hold on and make sure we got to Portland."
Kaitlyn Davis is receiving serious college interest from Iowa State, North Carolina State, Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia.
Dave Davis said she'll make a college decision soon.
O'NEILL PICKS CNU
Mountain View senior baseball standout Charlie O'Neill will continue his career at Christopher Newport University. O'Neill, who pitched and played first base for the Wildcats, will pitch in college, Mountain View head coach Craig Lopez said.
O'Neill didn't play much for Mountain View last year, but had a strong summer with his Richmond Braves showcase team.
"He really turned it up several notches," Lopez said of O'Neill. "He really took the bull by horn. I'm proud of him."
O'Neill's not the only Commonwealth District player to make a decision recently.
North Stafford standouts Ryan Dolinger (King College), Nate Connaughton (Tusculum College) and Michael Bill (Tusculum College) have made their choices, as well.
WARD HEADS WEST
Eastern View standout senior pitcher and first baseman Matt Ward has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Charleston (W.Va.).
Ward, who received a
Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
Email: tcoghill@freelancestar.com